Auntie Christ

Auntie Christ was formed in 1996 by Exene Cervenkova after X disbanded. Exene then joined forces with D.J. Bonebrake (her long-time drummer from X and solo projects) and Matt Freeman (Rancid/Downfall/Operation Ivy founder). Matt was a huge fan of X and had studied their music so closely, he was a perfect fit to the rhythm section. Their demo of 2 songs became their first single on Lookout (LK173). They gigged briefly in Northern California before heading into the studio in Los Angeles to record ?Life Could Be A Dream? with producer Sally Browder (Rocket From The Crypt, Red Aunts, Humpers). Auntie Christ is driven by Exene on guitar and lead vocals and the rhythm section section of D.J. and Matt. As always, Exene, (who wrote almost all the music and lyrics) is unflinching in her portrayal of the corrosive world around her, whether she?s examining social hypocracy or getting inside thorny romantic issues. Fittingly, Exene met D.J. Bonebrake and Matt Freeman at the same place- only 20 years apart. The location: the legendary Los Angeles punk club The Masque. In 1996, Exene reopened The Masque for one night only for a party to celebrate the release of the ?Live From The Masque? (a 3 cd live set on her Year 1 Records label that chronicled the early Los Angeles punk bands including X). One of the guests that night was Matt Freeman. Upon meeting each other, Exene told him of her plan to form a band that was in the truest spirit of punk, and one with a modern outlook. ? I asked him if he knew of any bass players for my band,? recalls Exene. At that point, Matt was in. After the release of ?Life Could be a Dream?, Auntie Christ has continued to play shows in California. But, in order to follow the calling to tour, Exene and D.J. had to find a new bass player. So, after playing with Stone Fox, an SF band, Auntie Christ adopted their bass player Janis Tanaka as their own.